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PIONEER LIFE 



PIONEER LIFE 

For Little Children 



By 

ESTELLA ADAMS 



WITH ILLUSTRATIONS 



INDIANAPOLIS 

THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 



'- ' i I Copyright 1916 

■ r\ ^i The Bobbs-Merrill Company 



JtfL 26 1916 



PRESS OF 

BHAUNWORTH & CO. 

BOOKBINDERS AND PHINTER3 

BROOKLYN, N. V. 



• CU437002 



:> 



'To 
The Children of Irvington 



INTRODUCTION 

History is intelligible to little children only in the 
simplicity of its primitive and pioneer aspects, but in 
these aspects it may be made one of the great educative 
influences in child life. 

It is a good omen that a book of the type of Miss 
Adams' Pioneer Life has made its appearance and that 
it has grown out of the author's experience in helping 
her six-year-old pupils to recreate and interpret the 
lives of their own pioneer forefathers. The picturing 
of a past so different in its background and daily activi- 
ties and yet so related to the familiar life of to-day 
affords the little child a natural first step in the devel- 
opment of the historic imagination. It is calculated to 
develop a degree of reverence for those whose sacrifice 
has established for the child a wider opportunity and 
to stimulate in him the desire to overcome obstacles, to 
adapt means to an end, to create and to cooperate. 

But these desirable ends can not be reached by the 
mere reading in class of this or any other series of 
pioneer stories. There must first come a sympathetic 
and imaginative entering into the conditions and activi- 
ties of pioneer life through the avenues of oral narra- 



INTRODUCTION 

tion, conversation, simple dramatization, hand work, 
drawing and the revival of some of the old-time songs 
and games. In the atmosphere of understanding and 
appreciation created by such means the reading to- 
gether of this little group of stories should be a delight 
to children and teachers alike. It is a distinct contri- 
bution to a steadily growing list of little children's read- 
ing books which have been developed upon a thought 

content that is in itself worth while. 

Laura Frazee. 



PIONEER LIFE 




PIONEER LIFE 



Long ago the Indians lived here. 
They lived in wigwams. 
Wigwams were made of skins. 
They were made of bear skins. 
The skins were stretched on poles. 
The wigwams were in the woods. 
They were also on the banks of streams. 
Indians built their fires outdoors. 



PIONEER LIFE 

Indian wigwams were not warm. 

They kept off the rain. 

The fire was made outdoors. 

The Indians gathered the sticks. 

They rubbed dry sticks together to make 

sparks. 
The sparks lit the fire. 

The Indians cooked their meat over the fire. 
Can you make a fire in that way? 

In the woods where the Indians Hved there 

were many bears and wolves. 
There were many big trees. 
There were little trees and bushes. 
Rabbits and squirrels lived in the woods. 
Indians made paths through the woods. 
The paths were called Indian trails. 




Beavers lived in the rivers. 

There were many deer in the woods. 

They made paths through the bushes. 

Buffaloes made paths, too. 

They made paths down to the creeks. 

They went to the creeks to bathe. 

They went to the creeks to drink. 

These paths were called buffalo trails. 

Would you like to live in the woods? 



PIONEER LIFE 

Come, John, let us play Indian. 

Get your bow and arrow. 

Indians shoot bears and rabbits. 

We can shoot at a tree. 

You shoot first, John. 

There, you hit the tree. 

John, you would make a good Indian. 

Now let me try to shoot the tree. 

Indians have brown skin. 

They have long black hair. 

They wear blankets. 

Indians like red and yellow blankets. 





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The men wear feathers in their hair. 
The feathers are red and yellow. 
Indians paint their faces. 
They like red and yellow paint. 



PIONEER LIFE 

Little Indian boys could run very fast. 

They liked to run races. 

They could shoot and fish. 

They could not read. 

They could not write. 

Indian boys could tell all about the trees. 

They could tell a rabbit's track in the snow. 

Do you know how a rabbit's track looks? 

Little Indian girls wear moccasins. 
Moccasins are made of skins. 
They have pretty beads on them. 
The girls wear beads and feathers, too. 




They do not have curls. 
They have straight black hair. 
They wear short dresses. 
These dresses have beads on them. 
They are trimmed with fringe. 



PIONEER LIFE 

Indian girls carry wood for the fire. 
They string red and yellow beads. 
They make pretty baskets. 
The baskets are made of sweet grasses. 
The girls make bowls of clay. 
They paint the bowls after they are dry. 
They carry water in these bowls. 
Can you make a clay bowl? 

Indian girls help to plant the corn. 

They carry the corn in baskets. 

They drop the grains of corn on the ground 

and stamp them in v/ith their feet. 
The corn baskets are made of willow twigs. 
They gather the corn when it is ripe. . 
The girls help to grind the corn. 
They grind it between two stones. 
After the corn is ground it is called corn meal. 




Corn meal is sometimes called Indian meal. 
The girls make bread of the meal. 
It is made into little round cakes. 
The cakes are baked before the fire. 



lo PIONEER LIFE 

The meat is roasted over the fire. 
Sometimes they cook the meat in the kettle. 
The kettle is hung over the fire. 

An Indian baby is called a papoose. 
The mother carries the baby on her back. 
She carries it in a cradle. 
The baby is tied in the cradle. 
It does not cry. 

Sometimes the mother hangs the cradle up in 
a tree. 

Can you make a picture of an Indian cradle? 

Indians built very light canoes. 

They used the bark of the birch tree. 

The boughs of the cedar tree held the canoe in 
shape. 

The roots of the larch tree were used to bind 
the ends together. 

The fir tree gave them balsam and resin to 
close the seams of the canoe. 




Sometimes Indians made pictures on the sides 
of their canoes. 

The canoes were so light they would float like 
a leaf on the water. 

The seams were so tight the water could not 
come into the boat. 

The Indians could paddle their canoes very 
swiftly. 



12 PIONEER LIFE 

Indians liked to ride up and down the rivers. 

They would paddle in and out among the 
bushes, stopping here and there to hunt. 

Sometimes they brought a red deer in their 
canoes. 

Sometimes strings of fish were brought home 
to the Indian camp. 

Hunting and fishing were favorite pastimes 
with the Indians. 

All Indian boys could fish and swim. 




Just as soon as boys were old enough they were 
taught to paddle a canoe. 

If the canoe turned over the boys were not 
afraid. 

They could easily swim and climb back into 
the canoe. 



14 PIONEER LIFE 

Indian writing was made up of pictures. 

If they wrote a letter about the night, little 
stars were drawn. 

For the daytime, a bow was made for the sky 
and a straight line for the earth. 

Footprints pointing toward the wigwam 
meant an invitation to visit. 

Waving lines meant rain and cloudy weather. 

If the letter told about the hunt, rabbits and 
deer were drawn. 




These pictures were drawn on birch bark. 
Some were colored with their paints. 
Can you write an Indian letter? 
Can you show an Indian camp fire? 



i6 PIONEER LIFE 

Indians moved from place to place. 
They took their wigwams with them. 
They took their kettles and their deer skins. 
The women carried the kettles and the deer 
skins. 

The girls carried the corn in baskets. 
The boys carried their bows and arrows. 
Many Indians moved at one time. 

After a while deer and buffaloes became 
scarce. 

Then the Indians wanted to move. 

They wanted to find a new home where there 
were many deer. 



PIONEER LIFE 17 

They wanted to have the new home on the 
bank of a creek. 

Why did they like to live by a creek? 

By and by white people came to this country. 
They came in big white wagons. 
They came on horseback. 
Sometimes the white people walked through 
the woods. 

They followed the Indian trails. 
They followed the buffalo trails. 

The white people brought their beds with 
them in their wagons. 

They slept in the wagons at night. 




The men built fires in the woods. 

They shot rabbits and squirrels. 

The men did not have bows and arrows. 

They had guns with them. 

Their meat was cooked over a fire in the 

woods. 
Corn cakes were cooked as the Indians cooked 

them. 



PIONEER LIFE 19 

The people who came in the big wagons were 

called pioneers. 
They came to this new country. 
Only the Indians lived here then. 
There were no schools nor churches. 
There were no warm houses. 
There were many, many trees. 
The pioneers brought their axes. 
They chopped down the trees. 

The pioneers liked to live by the creeks, too. 
Do you know why? 

After they chopped down the trees they built 
their houses. 



20 PIONEER LIFE 

These were log houses. 
They had neither floors nor windows. 
They hung up a bear skin for a door. 
At first they made their fire out of doors. 
They cooked their meat and corn bread on 
this fire. 

The pioneers built their beds in the corner of 
the room. 

They spread branches of trees and covered 
them with skins. 

Sometimes they had feather beds. 

They brought the feather beds in the big 
wagons. 




The table was built in another corner of the 
oom. 

The stools were made of blocks of wood and 
ad three legs. 

Some of the pioneers built fire places in their 
abins. 
They were very large and deep. 
A big log would burn in these fire places. 



22 PIONEER LIFE 

The chimneys were made of sticks and clay. 
The mother cooked in front of the fire. 
She had kettles and pots to cook in. 
The kettle hung on a big iron crane. 
The bread was baked in an iron oven. 
Fire was put over and under the oven. 
It was called a Dutch oven. 

The pioneer mothers brought their spinning 
wheels. 

One wheel was large, the other one was small. 

The large wheel spun wool. 

The men cut the wool from the sheep. 

This wool was spun into thread by the girls. 

Little girls could not reach the big wheel, so 
they stood on blocks to make themselves tall. 

Can you make a picture of a little girl spin- 
ning? 




The wool threads were woven into cloth. 
From this cloth the girls' dresses were made. 
Coats for the boys and men were made of this 

cloth. 
The women colored the cloth with walnut 

hulls. 
This made the cloth brown. 
Sometimes they colored the cloth with indigo. 
This made the cloth blue. 



24 PIONEER LIFE 

Some of the wool threads were used in knit- 
ting. 
The women and girls did the knitting. 
Some pioneer boys learned how to knit. 
They knit socks and stockings. 
They knit caps and mufflers. 
Boys knit their own suspenders. 
They colored their stockings with ocher. 
This made them yellow. 

Pioneer boys wore coon skin caps. 
The tail of the coon hung down behind. 
They wore jeans trousers and coats. 
Sometimes they wore coats made of deer skin. 



PIONEER LIFE 25 

Their stockings were made of wool. 
At first they wore moccasins. 
There were no shoe stores. 
These pioneer boys were very strong. 
They could run as fast as an Indian. 

Pioneer girls could do many useful things. 
They could piece quilts and knit socks. 
They could make samplers. 
One girl made this verse in her sampler — 

When I was young and in my prime, 
You see how well I spent my time, 
And by my sampler you may see, 
What care my parents took of me. 



26 PIONEER LIFE 

There were no toy shops in pioneer days. 

The girls made dolls of corn cobs. 

They dressed them with corn husks. 

They loved their dolls as much as you love 
yours. 

They had no beads like the Indian girls. 

They strung rose hips and nuts for beads. 

Can you make a string of beads of the pretty 
red rose hips? 

Pioneer mothers loved their children dearly. 
They were always very busy. 
They cooked in front of the fire place. 
They had no cook stoves. 
They spun the wool into thread. 
They wove the thread into cloth. 
They cut the cloth and made clothes for the 
children. 



PIONEER LIFE 27 

Some pioneer mothers had small spinning 

wheels. 
On these wheels they spun flax. 
They raised the flax in the fields. 
The flax has a beautiful blue flower. 
After the flax blooms it is cut. 
It is then left out in the rain. 
After a while the flax is beaten with sticks. 



"Come, Mary, get out the little spinning 

wheel." 
"We must spin the flax to-day." 
"Father needs a new shirt." 
"Mother must have some new sheets." 
Mary sits at her wheel spinning. 
She sings a little song. 



"Spin, lassie, spin. 

The thread goes out and in." 

Can you sing the spinning song? 



28 PIONEER LIFE 

The pioneers raised everything they used. 

The sheep gave them meat to eat and wool to 
spin. 

The flax gave them their linen. 

From the corn they made their meal for bread 
and cakes. 

The coons and bears caught in the woods 
gave them warm skins. 

These skins were used on the beds. 

Pioneer fathers were busy, busy men. 
They worked all day in the woods chopping 
down trees. 

They piled up the logs and burned them. 
This was called clearing the land. 
Boys could help to pile up the logs. 
They could watch the big fires. 
They did not let the fires go out. 



PIONEER LIFE 29 

After the land was cleared it was ready for 
plowing. 

The pioneers planted corn, pumpkins and 
Deans in their gardens. 

They built a rail fence to keep out the bears 
ind wolves. 

They could not keep out the rabbits and 
squirrels. 

They came in and ate the young corn and 
Deans. 

The log cabins sometimes had floors. 
These floors were made of puncheons. 
Puncheons were large slabs of wood. 
They were split from blocks of wood. 
They were made smooth on top. 



30 PIONEER LIFE 

The cracks in the log walls were filled with 
clay. 

The chimney w^as made of clay and laths. 

The clay was mixed with the fuzz of the cat- 
tail. 

They were called cat and clay chimneys. 

Some cabins had a loft upstairs. 

The boys and men slept in the loft. 

The steps were made by putting sticks be- 
tween the logs. 

The boys and men slept on skins. 

There was no fire upstairs. 

It often snowed in through the cracks in the 
log walls. 

Would you like to live in a log cabin? 



PIONEER LIFE 31 

Some of the pioneers lived a long way from 
the mill. 

They made their corn into meal. 

They filled an old tin with holes. 

They fastened the tin to a board. 

On this they grated ears of corn. 

It was a slow way to grind corn. 

All the old tin was saved for graters. 

This meal was made into bread and baked be- 
fore the fire place. 

Sometimes pioneer boys took the corn to the 
mill. 
The mill was on the river. 




The boys rode on horseback. 

They carried the corn in sacks. 

They put the sacks on the horse's back. 

Sometimes they rode ten miles to the mill. 

They always took their guns with them. 

Pioneer boys were very brave. 

There were many wolves in the woods. 

The boys rode through the woods to the mill. 



PIONEER LIFE 33 

Sometimes they had to wait at the mill. 
It was dark before their corn was ground into 
neal. 
They rode home through the dark woods. 
Brave boys are not afraid of the dark. 

Pioneers made their own soap and candles. 

Candles were made of the sheep's tallow. 

The children knit the wicks for the candles. 

The wicks were put through the candle molds. 

The tallow was melted and poured into these 
nolds. 

When the tallow was cold the candles were 
eady to light. 



34 PIONEER LIFE 

Most of the pioneer dishes were made of 

pewter. 
The spoons were made of iron. 
The large platters were made of wood. 
Horn-handled knives and forks were used. 
Children drank their milk from pewter mugs. 
Some of the pioneers had old blue dishes. 
They were kept on the shelf. 

The first pioneer houses had no glass win- 
dows. 
The windows were filled with greased paper. 
Sometimes greased deer skin was used. 
The door was made of thick boards. 
It was hung on wooden hinges. 
A wooden latch was raised from the outside. 
A latch-string hung on the outside of the door. 



PIONEER LIFE 35 

Pioneer girls helped their mothers. 
They spun wool and flax. 
They helped to make candles and soap. 
They rocked the baby in his wooden cradle. 
The little girls had few playthings. 
They did not go to visit other girls. 
They played with their corn cob dolls and bits 
of broken dishes. 

After a long time the pioneers built schools. 
They were built of logs, too. 
They had no glass windows. 
The fire was in a large fire place. 
There were no desks nor blackboards. 
There were few books. 
The children studied their lessons out loud. 
They walked many miles to school through 
the woods. 




Pioneer children played many games. 

The boys played ball and leap frog. 

They threw the ball over the log school house. 

Then they called '^Handy over." 

Then the boys on the other side caught the 

ball. 
The girls played London Bridge and The 

Jolly Miller. 
Can you play London Bridge? 



PIONEER LIFE 37 

The pioneers had very cold winters. 

They were often very hungry. 

Sometimes they had no corn. 

Then they ground up acorns. 

Out of this meal they made bread. 

They had meat when the men went hunting. 

They had wild turkeys and ducks. 

The trails through the woods were very bad. 

These trails were made into roads. 

More trees were cut and the roads were made 

wide. 
Still the stumps were left and the roads were 

very muddy. 
Often the mud was very deep. 
In these places logs were laid side by side. 
These were called log roads. 




In the spring the pioneers made their sugar. 

Holes were made in the sides of the maple 
trees. 

Little hollow sticks were put into these holes. 

Buckets were hung at the ends of the sticks. 

The sap from the trees dripped into these 
buckets. 

The sap was poured into a large kettle. 

A big fire was built under the kettle. 

The sap boiled a long time and then changed 
into maple sirup. 

This sirup, when boiled down, became sugar. 



PIONEER LIFE 39 

The pioneers did not have tea such as we 
rink. 

They made their tea of the spice bush. 

The spice bush grew in the woods. 

They did not have coffee to drink. 

They used parched corn and other grains. 

The nuts were all gathered by the children. 

Sometimes these were ground into meal. 

Berries were gathered by the children, too. 

Wild honey was found in the trees in the 
^oods. 

Little children learned to read and write at 
ome. 

The school was too far away. 

Their mothers were their teachers. 

They sang their A B C's. 

They learned to write with a pen made of a 
oose quill. 

They made ink of walnut shells. 

Sometimes they used the juice of the poke 
erry. 



40 PIONEER LIFE 

The children in olden times had few books. 

They had no picture books. 

They learned to spell long words. 

They could not go to school without paying. 

Poor boys chopped wood to pay their way in 
school. 

Sometimes they built the fire for the teacher. 

Sometimes a poor boy slept in the school 
house. 

Pioneer boys worked very hard. 
They split rails and made rail fences. 
They chopped wood and rode to the mill. 
They cut toys out of wood for the baby. 
These boys grew strong and straight. 
Birds and trees in the woods were their 
friends. 

They knew how to trap bears and foxes. 
Rabbits and squirrels were easy to trap. 






PIONEER LIFE 41 

Boys and girls took long walks through the 
^oods. 

They climbed trees for nuts and fruits. 

They learned about the clouds and the stars. 

When they were lost in the woods they could 
nd their way back home. 

They learned many things from the Indians. 

Indians find their way by the moss on the 
•ees. 

Sometimes the pioneers had a party. 

The mothers all helped to quilt. 

The girls made the carpet rags. 

The men came to help cut down trees. 

Boys helped roll the logs and burn them. 

After the work was done they had a supper. 

This was a pioneer party. 



42 PIONEER LIFE 

In the evening the pioneers sat around the 
fire. 
The mother was always busy spinning. 
Girls and boys shelled corn and peeled apples. 
Sometimes the father mended the boys* shoes. 
The only light they had was candle light. 
The girls parched some of the corn. 
Mother used the cobs for kindling. 

Indians taught the pioneers how to make 
baskets. 

They taught them how to cook the deer meat. 

Indians often came to visit the pioneers. 

They had never seen a spinning wheel. 

They had never seen the looms the pioneers 
wove their cloth on. 

Rag carpets were woven on the looms, too. 

Can you sew carpet rags? 



44 PIONEER LIFE 

The pioneer children loved to see the stage- 
coach go by. 

It was drawn by four horses. 

The horses had bells on their necks. 

The stage driver always blew his horn. 

The children could hear him coming through 
the woods. 

Sometimes he brought them a letter. 

There was no postman in those days. 



I 



PART TWO 

The Story of Two Pioneer Children 




JOIIX AND MARY 



48 PIONEER LIFE 

JOHN AND MARY 

John and Mary were pioneer children. 

They came to this country in a big, white cov- 
ered wagon. 

Four strong horses pulled the wagon. 

They came through the great woods. 

There were no roads. 

Their father often had to cut dow^n trees to 
make a path through the woods. 

Sometimes John and Mary ran ahead of the 
wagon. 

They gathered flowers and berries. 

They listened to the birds sing. 

At night they slept in the big wagon. 



PIONEER LIFE 49 

OLD DOG TRAY 

John had a pet dog named Tray. 

Tray came in the big wagon, too. 

Sometimes he ran off into the woods. 

He ran after the rabbits and squirrels. 

Sometimes he brought back a rabbit with him. 

He laid the rabbit at John's feet. 

Tray was a very faithful dog. 

John loved him dearly. 

Tray slept by the camp fire at night. 

He barked when he heard a noise. 

Old dog Tray is ever faithful, 
Old dog Tray is ever kind. 
He's faithful and he's kind 
And you'll never, never find 
A better friend than old dog Tray. 



50 PIONEER LIFE 

COOKING IN THE WOODS 

Mary's father built a fire in the woods. 

He said, *'Now, children, gather the sticks 
and we shall soon have a fine fire." 

The children gathered piles of sticks. 

They did not go far away. 

They were afraid of the Indians. 

After the fire was made, John went to the 
spring for water. 

Tray went with him. 

Tray was not afraid of the Indians. 

Mary helped her mother to get the dinner. 

They cooked the rabbit their father had 
caught in the woods. 

They baked corn bread and fish. 

The children were hungry. 

Do you like fish for dinner? 



PIONEER LIFE 51 

BUILDING THE RAFT 

One day they came to a river. 

John said, "Father, how can we cross?" 

Father said, "We will build a raft." 

There were many trees in the woods. 

Father cut some of the smaller trees. 

He trimmed off the branches. 

These logs made the raft. 

The horses swam across the river. 

The wagon had to be taken apart before it 

could be taken on the raft. 
Then the family crossed the river on the raft. 
Soon they were on the other side of the river. 
They built a large fire and dried their clothes. 
That night they reached their new home. 




THE NEW HOME 

The new home was in a beautiful forest. 

It was on the bank of a river. 

John's father said, 'We will build our house 

here." 
Some men came arid helped to cut down the 

trees. 



4 



PIONEER LIFE 53 

All day they worked. 

The next day they helped to build the log 

house. 
They made the chimney of clay and sticks. 
They made a door of rough boards. ^ 
In one corner they built the bed. 
In another corner they made a table. 
They made stools for John and Mary. 
At night father said, **We shall sleep in our 

new home." 
How happy they were in their new log cabin ! 



54 PIONEER LIFE 

OLD FRIENDS 

John and Mary found many friends near their 
new home. 

They knew the sycamore tree with its white 
bark and Httle balls. 

They knew the beech tree with its three-sided 
nuts. 

The rabbits and squirrels were old friends, but 
they were afraid of Tray. 

One day the children saw a bear in the woods. 

Tray was afraid of the bear. 

Tray did not bark at it. 

He ran and hid in the house. 

John and Mary ran and hid, too. 



PIONEER LIFE 55 

NEW FRIENDS 

One day John saw an Indian boy. 

He was hunting with his bow and arrow. 

He had some rabbits and squirrels. 

The Indian showed John how to shoot with a 

bow and arrow. 
He showed him the best place to fish in the 

river. 
John could not run so fast as the Indian. 
John showed the Indian his pet dog. 
Tray stood up on his hind legs. 
He let John put a bone on his nose. 
The Indian said Tray was a fine dog. 



56 PIONEER LIFE 

MAKING GARDEN 

In the spring John and Mary helped make 
garden. 

Father had cleared the land. 

John had burned all the logs and stumps. 

John*s father did the plowing. 

John was too small to drive the oxen. 

After the ground was plowed John planted 
the corn. 

Mary helped him to keep the rows straight. 

John built a rail fence around the garden. 

It kept the cow and horse out of the garden, 
but it did not keep the squirrels out. 

Tray kept them out, for they were afraid of 
him. 



PIONEER LIFE 57 

HELPING MOTHER 

In the evening John and Mary helped with the 
/ork. 

Mary carded the wool into rolls for her mother 
) spin. 

Her mother spun the rolls into thread. 

Sometimes Mary shelled corn. 

After she shelled the corn they burned the 
obs. 

Sometimes she built houses with the cobs. 

John helped his father mend the moccasins. 

He made holes in the skin with a sharp awl. 

He sewed the moccasins with strong string. 

These strings were made of deer sinews. 



58 PIONEER LIFE 

GOING TO MILL 

One day the meal was all gone. 

The mill was four miles up the river. 

John said, "I will take the corn to the mill.'* 

"Very well," said mother, "hurry home." 

John put the corn in a large bag. 

He put the bag on the horse's back in front of 
him. 

He went off whistling through the woods. 

When he reached the mill the miller was very 
busy. 

John waited a long time before his corn was 
ground. 

It was dark when he started for home. 

John was afraid of the wolves, but he kept 
right on. 

How glad he was when he saw the candle in 
the window. 

John's mother was glad when he came home. 



PIONEER LIFE 59 

THE NEW LAMP 

John made a lamp for his mother. 

He made a cup of clay. 

He made it smooth and round. 

Then he baked the cup in the fire place. 

When the cup was hard John filled it with 

bear's oil. 
He made a wick of cotton. 
One end of the wick he put in the oil. 
That night they lit the new lamp. 
What a fine light they had. 
Mother said she could see to spin. 
Father read from his book by the light of the 

new lamp. 



6o PIONEER LIFE 

THE STAGE COACH 

"Oh, mother, come quick, the stage-coach is 
coming." 

John ran down to the road. 

The stage driver blew his horn. 

"Here is company. Master John.'* 

John could hardly wait till the stage door was 
opened. 

Out stepped a little old lady. 

She wore a warm brown shawl. 

She wore a big brown bonnet. 

Can you guess who the old lady was? 

It was John's grandmother. 

How happy John was to see her. 

He led her up the walk to the log cabin. 

He blew the big horn to let father know that 
company had come. 



I 



62 PIONEER LIFE 

GRANDMOTHER'S STORIES 

How many stories grandmother had to tell the 
children that night. 

She told about the new road that was being 
built. 

She said it was wide enough for two wagons 
to pass. 

She told about the new houses that were being 
built of bricks. 

She gave John a new book that was full of 
pictures. 

They were pictures of all kinds of animals. 

John could name many of the animals. 

She gave Mary a lovely new doll. 

You know Mary's dolls were all made of corn 
cobs. 

The new doll was a lovely rag doll. 

Mary hugged her new doll and called her 
Betsey. 



PIONEER LIFE 63 

TEA TIME 

The best thing grandmother brought was 
some tea for mother. 

Mother had not tasted tea since she came to 
the "New Country." 

Father said, "Get the kettle filled, John.'' 

"We will hang it on the crane by the fire." 

Soon the kettle boiled. 

Then mother made the tea in her beautiful 
blue teapot. 

She got down her best blue cups and saucers. 

"Nothing is too good for grandmother," said 
she. 

How good the tea tasted to John and Mary ! 

What fun it was to use the blue cups and 
saucers ! 



64 PIONEER LIFE 

THE NEW TEACHER 

Grandmother told the children a new teacher 
came in the stage with her. 

He was to open a school the next week. 

The school was a mile away from John^s 
home. 

He and Mary were to start to school the next 
Monday. 

John could hardly wait for Monday to come. 

He cleaned his slate and found his spelling 
book. 

Mary had no books. She had never been to 
school. 

She learned a little poem to say for the new 
teacher. 

It was a poem about Tray. 

Would you like to hear it? 



PIONEER LIFE 65 

MARY'S POEM 

I like to see a little dog 
And pat him on the head, 
So merrily he wags his tail 
Whenever he is fed. 

Some little dogs are very good 
And very useful, too: 
And do you know that they will mind 
What they are bid to do? 

Then I will never beat my dog 
And never give him pain. 
Poor fellow, I will give him food 
And he will love me then. 



66 PIONEER LIFE 

SCHOOL 

Early Monday morning Mary and John 
started for school. 

John was dressed in deer skin and wore a coon 
skin cap. 

Mary had on a wool dress and wore a warm 
shawl. 

John carried his slate and dinner pail. 

Mary carried the spelling book. 

The way was long and it was very cold. 

Grandmother had made mittens for both the 
children. 

Their hands were not cold. 

At last they reached the school. 

The teacher was glad to see them. 

He had six boys and five girls in his school. 



PIONEER LIFE 67 

Mary soon learned to read in her primer. 
She said her lessons for mother. 
She could read the little short stories. 
She liked to read 

Is he in? 
He is in. 
Is he up? 
He is up. 

She learned a new verse in school. 
It was a short verse. 

Love God with all your soul and strength, 
With all your heart and mind, 
And love your neighbor as yourself ; 
Be faithful, just and kind. 



68 PIONEER LIFE 

THE CHRISTMAS CANDLE 

One night Mary saw mother making a new 
kind of candle. 

She had knit a heavy wick. 

She pulled it through the end of the dinner 
horn. 

Then she filled the horn with melted tallow. 

''Oh, mother, what a lovely candle that will 
make." 

''Why are you making it so large?" 

"Why, Mary, don't you know to-morrow is 
Christmas?" 

Mary jumped up and down and clapped her 
hands. 

Of course, they always had a big candle for 
Christmas ! 

She ran off to tell John the good news. 

"John, John, to-morrow is Christmas, and 
mother is pouring the big candle." 



J 



PIONEER LIFE 69 

CHRISTMAS EVE 

It is the night before Christmas. 

All around the log cabin the snow is white 

and deep. 
A big log blazes in the fire place. 
The spinning wheel is put away. 
There is no corn to shell to-night. 
Mother is knitting by the side of the fire. 
Grandmother is knitting in her old rocker. 
John and Mary are sitting on their stools. 
Father opens the big book and begins to read. 
He reads about the shepherds out with their 

flocks. 
He reads about a beautiful shining star. 
He reads about three wise kings. 
He reads about a dear little baby. 
Do you know the story, little boys and girls? 



THE END 



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